Berkshire Honors Scholar Program

BCC honors student at a food packing event

Welcome, Students!

Students in the Berkshire Honors Scholar Program contribute to a diverse community of learning at BCC. The program provides a creative and challenging student-driven experience, designed for highly-motivated students who want to realize their full potential pursuing the highest level of academic achievement possible at BCC.

Students in the program work together both in and out of the classroom. There are opportunities to get together as a group several times each semester. Enjoy lunches, coffees, and informal gab sessions; discuss career choice, college transfer options, and how to navigate the College. Students can meet, rest, or study in the dedicated Honors Center on campus.

Above all, the program offers a chance to take intellectually engaging courses, with smaller class sizes, in the company of other students who care deeply about learning. To graduate as an Honors Scholar you will take 9 credits of honors courses. These courses also count toward your general education and program requirements so you do not have to take "extra" courses. See Courses and Components for more.

Join the Honors Scholar Program!

Contact Us

Chris Laney, Honors Coordinator
claney@berkshirecc.edu
413-236-4631

Photo Collection

Honors Program Celebration 2023

Honors Program Celebration 2023

The Commonwealth Honors Program

We are also a member of the Commonwealth Honors Program. Members include all four University of Massachusetts campuses, seven State University campuses, and fourteen community colleges.

Students who fulfill the Berkshire Honors Scholar graduation requirements and are accepted to any Commonwealth Honors Program member institution are guaranteed admission to the honors program at that school. This includes the Commonwealth College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Honors Program Diversity Statement

The Honors Program values diversity and seeks to create a warm and inclusive space for all students. We believe in the value and dignity of Black lives, Indigenous lives, and the lives of people of color. We believe that we must fight to be anti-racist and to dismantle the structures that undermine the cause of equality between all people. We are welcoming to all students, whether they are citizens of this country or whether they have come to our shores to seek opportunity, education, or new life experiences, and support and encourage course content that considers global perspectives. We proudly support members of the LGBTQ community and will fight to ensure that their voices and experiences are not undermined, silenced, or erased. We also stand against sexism and for the equal treatment of women. As a program, we strive to support both the neuro and physically diverse and work hard to create accessible programming and classroom materials for all kinds of learners regardless of ability. We believe in providing courses where opportunities for discussion foster inclusive, collaborative dialogue across differences to create positive societal change.

Learn More

  • Transferring

    Berkshire Honors Scholars have transferred to a wide variety of four-year institutions, including:

    • Amherst College
    • The Commonwealth College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
    • Cornell University
    • Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
    • Marlborough College
    • Mount Holyoke College
    • The New School
    • University of Massachusetts Boston
    • Smith College
    • Westfield State University Honors Program
    BCC honors students
  • Courses

    Our courses are the heart of the program. They are small and student centered. Most are seminar style courses that take a broader perspective on a topic. They provide you with crucial knowledge that will connect to and support many other courses you take, as well as helping you to think more analytically and critically.

    In these courses you might write your own graphic novel, or compare monsters and things that scare us now and in the past.

  • Out-of-Classroom Learning

    Out-of-classroom learning is important. Therefore, we like to take students off campus for dynamic learning experiences whenever possible.

    Past honors scholars have visited venues that were relevant to their coursework, such as the Graphics Arts Museum in New York City, the 9/11 Museum, various branches of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC, the Environmental Center in Cape Cod, and multiple museums around the county.

    There are also opportunities to attend and present at regional and national honors conferences. Students have attended the Northeast Regional Honors Council Conference and other out-of-state conferences. Additionally, many students have presented at the BCC Undergraduate Scholars Conference as well as the annual UMass Undergraduate Research Conference.

    BCC honors student on a zipline
    BCC honors students at a greenhouse event